Letters to the Editor | Oct. 25, 2023

After five years of fighting to save Isaiah Zagar’s Painted Bride mosaic at 230 Vine St., the removal of the iconic artwork began last week. With anguish and heartbreak, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens preservation team methodically hand-chiseled significant tiles out of the walls to hopefully save for future projects. Over the years, advocates met with officials and pleaded for the city’s attention to protect the artwork. Legal battles were won and lost; the project was redesigned but contested by a handful of neighbors. The final devastating defeat came when the artwork’s protection was overturned by Judge Anne Marie Coyle.

Arts and culture contribute an incredible combined impact of $4.1 billion to the region’s economy. This amounts to $224.3 million in state and local taxes. Why, then, doesn’t the city recognize that preserving history and culture is critical to development? Artists have always injected color and breathed life into our neighborhoods, giving Philadelphia the reputation of being a living museum, full of vibrant public art. The city’s artistic community is one that nurtures possibility, sparks inspiration, and allows beautiful things to blossom.

In a city facing so many challenges, officials and residents alike need to embrace the distinctive elements that make Philadelphia a city worth living in. We need investment in visionary thinking, creative placemaking, and strong, proactive, and vocal support in protecting historic and cultural spaces. Instead, greed, personal interests, and shortsighted politicians have taken a wrecking ball to a priceless work of art. Its loss is a shame and an outrage.

As we are painfully putting the Bride mosaic to rest, it is hard not to wonder if anything will prevent this from happening in the future. Are we not a city of fighters, of underdogs, of the misunderstood and imaginative? If we destroy our most iconic and unique spaces, who and what will carry on that spark of inspiration for the next generation of thinkers, dreamers, and creatives? Is Philadelphia still interested in reflecting such incredible ideas?

Julia Zagar, artist and owner, Eye’s Gallery, and Emily Smith, executive director, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens

The most powerful democracy in the world has come to a screeching halt. On Oct. 3, the Republican speaker of the House was ousted from power for committing the egregious error of passing legislation with Democrats to keep the government funded and prevent a federal shutdown. How dare he! Now we, the electors, sit and wait while a bunch of entitled spoiled brats try to figure out how to proceed. We, the hardworking women and men of America, the people who actually have to produce to collect a paycheck, are footing the bill for elected officials who are doing nothing. Do our representatives think they can arbitrarily discount the fact that we put them in the positions they occupy? By their actions — or should I say, their inactions — I guess they do. This is a deplorable situation, and I am outraged. Not only that, but I am also embarrassed that other countries around the world are watching this fiasco and laughing.

William D. Markert Jr., Philadelphia

When I was young, my mother became ill, and I went to live with my grandfather. Though I could not understand his references to the pogroms or concentration camps, I did learn from him that the world hated Jews: “We are not family, and never will be.” I remember my joy in 1945 when Bess Myerson became the first Jewish Miss America. Waving her photo in the Baltimore Sun, I spoke with much excitement: “Look, Pop. You’re wrong. Look, we are not hated. We are family.” My grandfather shook his head. “This only happened because of the guilt about the camps, when no one stopped the Nazis till it was too late,” he said.

A few years ago, my husband and I attended a Seder where survivors of concentration camps spoke of changes in America, ones reminiscent of their experience in Germany as Hitler was gaining power. They referenced extreme right and extreme left movements “fanning the flames” of hatred. At that time, neither my husband nor I had ever experienced antisemitism personally. That has changed.

Raised in a modern Orthodox setting, I never parted with a knit suit with a matching beret bought many years ago for going to synagogue with my parents. Recently, invited to an Orthodox bar mitzvah, I took the outfit to an excellent dressmaker I’ve known for years. As she was pinning the suit to alter it, she asked where I was going to wear it. A week or so after the event, I took some of my husband’s shirts to her shop to be laundered. She greeted me with a look I had never seen, and a tone I had never heard. “Did you have a good time at the bar mitzvah with your rich Jewish friends?” she asked with contempt.

Now, following the barbaric assault on Israeli civilians — where atrocities too horrific to wrap one’s head around took place — the world is protesting Israel’s response to that brutality. “What,” asked a thoughtful and intelligent friend, “do you think that Israel did to provoke the massacre?” As she concluded her sentence, I was no longer at a cocktail party. I was instead at my grandfather’s kitchen table.

I often dream of Pop. In past dreams, I look for him everywhere, but cannot find him. Amid today’s horror, my dream changed. I do find him; he grabs my hand and I tell him he was right: Jews will never be family.

SaraKay Smullens, Philadelphia

Although Philadelphia City Council was right to condemn the war crimes that Hamas committed in Israel on Oct. 7, the resolution was terribly one-sided in its failure to also condemn Israel. According to the United Nations, more than 4,200 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s attacks on Gaza. Most of those people were civilians. This attack on civilians is a war crime, just as Hamas’ attack that killed 1,400 people in Israel is a war crime. What is some of the bigger historical picture? From 2008 through 2022, according to the U.N., nearly 6,400 Palestinians were killed in the region, compared with 300 Israelis. Each one of those human beings was incredibly precious — regardless of national identity. Instead of pouring more gasoline on the fire, the U.S. should push for a cease-fire, a return of all captives by both sides, and a long-term negotiated settlement that respects the rights of both sides to a secure, peaceful coexistence. The good people of Israel and Palestine deserve nothing less.

John W. Braxton, Philadelphia

On Saturday, I attended a massive local protest in solidarity with the people of Gaza along with more than 100 members of Philadelphia Jewish Voice for Peace. Many thousands of people gathered from across the city, with a crowd truly representing Philadelphia, including many families with young children, elders, and people of all ages. Protesters gathered at City Hall and moved through the streets to the Art Museum, where the crowd filled the steps and the surrounding area. This was among the largest demonstrations I’ve seen in 20-plus years in Philly.

What a shame that The Inquirer ignored this passionate, fervent, and peaceful protest. Would you have given coverage if there was violence or conflict in the streets? There have been protests almost every day the past two weeks, organized by the Philly Palestine Coalition and its many member organizations. This showing of solidarity from Philly to Palestine reflects decades of ongoing organizing by local Palestinians, Jewish solidarity groups, and many more. There are powerful images and videos all over social media. Where was The Inquirer?

Ezra Nepon, Philadelphia

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